The present invention generally relates to tools for use in building construction. More particularly, the present invention relates to a hand tool which is designed to hold and grip heavy and/or unwieldy materials used in the construction of buildings and the like.
In the construction industry, there are a variety of building materials which are large in size, heavy or otherwise unwieldy. Such materials include panels, boards and sheets of dry wall wallboard, plasterboard, sheet rock, plywood, particle board, pressed-wood, melamine, granite, marble and glass.
Although pallets of these materials may be loaded onto a truck bed for delivery to the construction site, or even lifted by crane to areas of the construction site or levels of the building being constructed, they still must be individually transported to their final destination within the building structure. Although such materials are often heavy, they are capable of being carried to their final destination by only one or two construction workers. The difficulty in transporting these materials lies in the fact that they are very large. For example, a sheet of plywood can be four to six feet in width and eight feet or more in length. Such materials typically lack handle holds or apertures for grasping. Thus, to carry a sheet of material, a construction worker typically grasps an edge of the material tightly between the fingers and palms of his hands and lifts the sheet of material a few inches off the ground while walking to deliver the sheet of material to its final destination. Not only awkward, this method of carrying such sheets of material fatigues the worker""s hands, arms, upper torso and neck.
Some of these materials, such as glass or marble, can be quite slippery and slip out from the grasp of the construction worker""s hands. Such falls can render the sheet of material at least partly if not fully useless, resulting in increased cost for the construction project.
Accordingly, there is a need for a tool which is designed to assist a construction worker in gripping and holding unwieldy panels and sheets of construction material. Such a tool should be configured so as to grasp such sheets firmly without damaging the material. Such a tool should also enable the construction worker to more naturally hold and carry the sheet of material such that the weight is distributed over the construction worker""s body, instead of in front of or to the side of the body, to prevent fatigue and injury. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.
The present invention resides in a hand tool for gripping and moving building materials, such as sheets and panels of material. The hand tool generally comprises a linkage including a grip at a first end thereof, and a plate pivotally attached to a second end of the linkage and having a gripping face. A bracket is pivotally attached to the linkage intermediate the first and second ends thereof. The bracket extends beyond the second end of the linkage and has a gripping face disposed generally opposite the gripping face of the plate. Upon inserting a building material between the plate and bracket gripping faces and lifting the linkage upwardly, the plate and bracket pivot so that the gripping faces thereof firmly contact and grip opposite sides of the building material.
The linkage generally comprises a pair of support arms attached to opposite ends of the grip so as to be generally parallel with one another. The support arms are each L-shaped in configuration, having integral first and second sections that are angularly offset from one another. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the first and second sections of each support arm are angularly offset by twenty-two degrees.
The bracket is generally U-shaped. The plate and bracket gripping surfaces are generally flat, and may include a cushion insert attached thereto to enhance the frictional contact with the building material, as well as preventing scratches and marring of finished surfaces of the building material, such as when the building material comprises glass, marble, etc. The insert may be comprised of a rubber material to achieve these objectives.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.